If someone asked you to draw a mouse, I’m sure you’ll produce a sketch with two buttons on top, a wheel for scrolling the screen and an oval -shaped mouse body. This has been a common design of a mouse since it was invented by Douglas Engelbart of the Stanford Research Institute in 1961.
This standard design is comfortable to use for several hours but can result in injury to hand movements due to RSI. Several alternative designs for mice have been produced such as in the form of a trackball requiring the ball to be moved and not the body of the mouse itself.
The Logitech Lift is another mouse that attempts to challenge mouse dominance with a horizontally placed palm design. Logitech’s brilliant idea is to place hands vertically on their mice. Was this gimmick successful? Read the review for the answer.
Specifications And Design
Logitech Lift
Wireless Type Mouse
Button 6 Button
Laser sensor
DPI 400-4000 DPI
Bluetooth LE connection
Logi Bolt
MacOS minimum operating system 10.15
Windows 10
Linux
Chrome OS
Android 8
iPadOS 14
Size 71 x 70 x 108 mm
Weight 125 grams
1x AA battery (up to 2 years)
Selling Price RM 299
The unit reviewed is white which I have to say is a rather cliché color. For those who want a more attractive color, there is also an Elevator in black and even rose. Colors that were once trendy on smartphones are finally being used on a mouse. Maybe Logitech is following a trend revived by Apple that offers the iMac in a pretty cheerful pastel color option.
I have to say that this rose pink color is not the color I like because from personal experience the mouse will get dirty easily. Black mice are the easiest to hide any dirt for people who are lazy to clean computer accessories like me.
The first time experience using the Elevator was very strange. After years of placing the hands parallel to the table surface to control the cursor on the screen, now the hands are placed vertically and tilted around 45 degrees on the side of the Lift. Two click buttons, a scroll wheel and a DPI change button are also placed vertically. It feels like using a Microsoft Flight Simulator video game flight stick controller that I once owned.
Indeed I admit the hand feels more comfortable as it no longer has to be bent at the wrist to move the mouse. But at the same time muscle memory for 27 years using a mouse makes it all feel very awkward. It’s just like you’re holding an aluminum beverage can and trying to drag your hands left and right over a table surface. This is the feeling closest to the feeling of using this vertical mouse.
If previously pressure was placed on the bottom of the palm, it is now transferred to the side of the hand and also the little finger dragged over the table surface. The process of getting used to using this vertical mouse was not that long and took about 3 days for me.
The number of buttons given is quite a lot with six in all. Two standard click buttons, one scroll wheel button, one DPI change button, one “front” button, and one “back” button. This is the number of buttons I feel is sufficient for 99% of daily use. The additional buttons can be changed in their function through the Logi Option+ software which I will touch on in more detail in the software section below.
While the wrist feels a lot more comfortable than using a regular mouse, I have to admit that the Lift is a relatively small mouse. As a large human being, my palms are also quite large. I have always been more comfortable using a gaming mouse like the Alienware Elite Gaming Mouse AW959 which is larger than usual.
My hand had to grip a mouse that was smaller than usual and this in turn created another issue that had never been experienced before. Logitech itself advertises that the Lift is a mouse designed for those with a modest hand size. If you have large hands, I feel the comfort on the wrist is replaced in turn by pain in the fingers that do not have enough surface to hold the Lift.
Because of this small size it also causes the side buttons and right -click buttons to be mis -pressed given the position of the fingers which is not the same as on a larger mouse. The need to re -learn how to hold the mouse properly may cause some users to fly white flags.
Forget to say though so far what I’ve written is a bit negative let me give credit to Logitech for offering Lifts for left -handed users. They are the ones that are often forgotten by PC and Mac accessory manufacturers.
Interesting Software And Features
Option+ Logic software is mandatory if you are a macOS and Windows user. While the review was done I tested Lift on both of these dominant desktop operating systems. I didn't have time to test it on Chrome OS even though Elevator supports it.
Software installation is easy and fast depending on the speed of the Internet you use. Yes reader once, Logitech does not include software compact discs and drivers for Elevators. While this is nothing new but as a “dinosaur” living in the 90s, I still keep the desire for software to be given once in a package.
Once installed the user can choose to change the scrolling speed of the wheel buttons, change the function of each button, view the Elevator battery level, update the firmware and more. The customization options provided through Option+ are very complete.
For example I changed the DPI change button to the Control Center launch button and also changed the side button to control the audio volume level on the computer in the office. What makes Option+ interesting is that the customization of the function of each button can be changed according to the application used.
For example when using Safari, I use the side buttons to go forward or backward. But in Photoshop, I programmed it to resize the brush. Everything is saved by Option+ without you having to change it manually every time the app is opened. Very time -saving for people who often don't have enough time like me.
Each Lift can be programmed to be tethered to three different devices via the Easy Switch button under the mouse. I am very forgetful and Option+ shows the name of what device has been tethered to the Elevator and at what position. From within Option+ I can change the tether to another device without having to do it physically on the mouse.
Battery
The elevator only needs an AA -sized battery to function. This is great because this is the easiest battery size to buy on the market. Logitech says the battery can last up to 24 months. After a week of use only in the office, the battery level is still at 98%. So Logitech’s claim that the elevator can be used for up to two years may be achievable. I feel the battery life of up to two years with just one battery is more than satisfactory.
Conclusion
Elevators want to change how we use mice for long -term wrist health. As a human being who already has an RSI problem on his wrist, Lift came decades late. Did it manage to make me do a paradigm shift to only use a vertical mouse after this?
In my case the answer is no. Not because after almost 30 years of using a horizontal mouse I was so used to my daily routine that I couldn’t afford to change. Granted I admit the Lift is comfortable to wear but this alone is not enough to make me make daily habit changes. Another issue is that the Elevator is too small for a gorilla -arm human like me.
But if you want to avoid suffering a wrist injury, don’t yet have a long -term habit of using a conventional mouse and want an easy -to -use mouse on multi -devices - the Logitech Lift is a mouse I can recommend for those who dare to try something new.
PROs and Advantages
It is comfortable to use without pressure on the wrist.
Excellent software support on various operating systems.
Battery life for two years.
Comes in left -handed and left -handed versions.
Many buttons can be customized with official support of third party software.
CONS and Disadvantages
Too small for those with big hands.
Requires the user to re -learn how to hold the mouse.
